Method of making glass beads



June 30, 1953 P N 2,643,488

METHOD OF MAKING GLASS BEADS Filed Dec. 26, 1946 IN V EN T 0R.

Fuzz/Zarzzn h/ ATTORNEY Patented June 3Q, 1953 2,643,488 I METHOD or MAKING, GLASS BEADS Raul Lebrun, Long Island City, N. Y2; John 0. Glenn, administrator of the estate of Paul Lebrumdeoeascd ApplicationDecember 26, 19.46; SerialNo. 718,544

I 1. Claim.

The invention relates to a method of making glass beads.

Heretofore, the making of glass beads has failed in making a truly spherical head.

The object of the invention is to provide a method for making such beads.

For this purpose, the invention consists in subjecting a severed gobv of a glass rod heated to melt the tip of the same, to a rotation, to form a preliminary head, while under the action of heat, moving said first formed preliminary bead laterally of its first position. under the action of heat, forming a second preliminary bead spaced from the first bead, and deflecting the heat from the glass rod to the spaced first formed, preliminary bead, before releasing'the second gob, while forming the secondpreliminary bead, during rotation of the. preliminary beads, said de flected heat intensifying the heat of the first formed spaced preliminary head, to bring it to iridescence or incandescence and substantially fluid state, indicated by its transparency, and rotation of the same forming it into a truly spherical shape under the action. of centrifugal and centripetal forces, then gradually cooling the truly spherical bead under continued rotation.

The apparatus consists in a plurality of Bunburner nozzles, directcdto a common meeting point, with a manifold, the: planes being adapted to be disposed in respect to a. wire, to have said meeting point beyond and below the wire substantially the same distance, with the median line of the apparatus at right angles to the Wire.

The invention will be further described, embodiments thereof shown in the drawings, and the invention will be finally pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings;

Fig. 1 is a plan diagrammatic. view of. the es sential step;

Fig. 2 is, an. end view before the glass, rod is applied to the wire;

Fig. 3 is a plan View showing the cooling step Fig. 4 is an end view as the glass rod is. applied to the wire;

Fig; 5, is an end. View of: the wire, just as the gob is forming on the wire;

Fig. 6 is an end view of the wire, when the. preliminary head is finished;

Fig; '7 shows diagrammatically the deflection upon the second bead; and

Fig. 8 is a front diagrammatic view-'01" a gen,- erally known machine for making beads.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the various views.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown an apparatus consisting of a battery of separate pipes I0 horizontally arranged, and with the individual pipes inclined towards a center point ll. These pipes have orifices 12- at one end, and having their other ends communicating with a horizontal manifold [3, from which extends downwardly a vertical pipe it connected with a source of gas supply (not shown). The Bunsen burner flames emanating out of the orifices l2, focus at one point I5. Below this point !5, a Wire !8 passes substantially at right angles to the central pipes Hm. This wire It is rotated around its axis and is intermittently moved axially; by suitable means, not herein claimed, as generally known.

Such means are shown in Fig. 8, in which the pulley I8 is rotated by a belt (not shown) connected with a suitable source of power (not shown). A central hollow shaft 19, received a wire 20. from a spool 21-, which is supported by bearings 22, and is rotated with the rotating shaft l9. At one end of the shaft i9, achuck 23 holds the wire 26 against axial movement but as the chuck rotates with the shaft 19, the rotation of the wire continues. A piston 24 serves to engage the wire so as to grip it and move the wire longitudinally along its axis, with the chuck opening' to permit such movement in one direction. A swinging arm 25 is moved by suitable cams on a driving shaft, which has a pulley for the belt of the pulley IS. A guide 26' permits thepassage of the wire after it leaves the chuck 23. A short distancefrom the guide 26, the focal point [5 is arranged by suitably placing the manifold 13 in proper position to direct the flames above the wire, which location is not old. At a suitable distance from the focal point 15, is tr tunnel 30 intowhich the wire passes and in which it and its beads may cool. At the further open end of the tunnel 30, :a, suitable means, not shown, serves to sever the wire at suitable lengths. When severed, the separate lengths may be stretched and as a result. of this stretching the wire becomes elongated and thereby thinned in diameter which causes the connection between the-beads and the wire to separate, and permits the beads to freely move along the wire and fall off the wire, when the wire is held in vertical position and no obstruction is encountered. Forsevering the wire, a knife or scissor device may be used, or, some suitable acid solution which,

dissolves the wire and cleans the glass, may be used. The beads are then selected and distributed in their respective sizes, which may differ slightly from each other. Certain of these instrumentalities are not shown, as they are known and form no part of the present invention.

The improvement consists in having the wire l6 disposed below the plane of the pipes, a distance A (Fig. 2), and the focus is disposed beyond the wire [6 about the same distance A (Fig. 1).

The beads are made by holding in the hand of the operator, 2. glass rod 35 at an inclination to the perpendicular, with its lower end approximately in the focal point I5, whereby the tip 36 is fused into a molten end, the proximate portion of the glass rod bending slightly as shown by 36a, due to its softened condition. The operator moves the tip 36 downwardly in a curved path against the rotating wire. The glass rod is moved from left to right (Fig. 2) to separate a gob of softened or molten glass, which then adheres to the rotating wire. The gob is attached about in line with the third tube, and for larger gobs about in line with the fifth tube. The gob is first eccentrically or unequally disposed to the axis of the wire, and rather flat, but its rotation with the wire, causes the mass of the gob to become gradually more concentrically disposed to the axis of the rod, and shaped to approach the shape of a sphere. rod when subjected to the melting heat near the focal point is placed about in line with'the third or near the fourth tube (from right to left) As this gob is heated under the action of the adjacent hot air current below the flames produced by induction of the moving Bunsen flames, the intenser heat of the flames acting upon the glass rod is deflected from the glass rod end to the wire at the left of the glass rod, that is, to the wire at the left of the first bead being formed, whereby the wire is heated to red heat, as clearly visible to the eye. After the first bead is thus formed into substantially spherical shape, and the wire has been longitudinally moved a limited distance, the distance of about the diameter of a bead, whereby the bead passes through the hot flames of the remaining tubes, the first formed bead is moved into the sphere of the intense heat deflected from the rod when the glass rod is again inserted into the flame, it having been withdrawn during the step by step movement of the wire, and is subjected to a greater heat than the heat under which the bead was first formed in its first position. This deflected heat so heats the sphere when in its second station or position, as to cause the sphere to become almost transparent or translucent during its rotation. The mass iridesces. The wire at each side of the formed bead adjacent to the mass becomes red hot. The mass of the the bead seems to the eye to be almost fluid. This fluidity characteristic enables the shape to be improved in order to bring it into as close a sphere contour as possible under the centrifugal forces acting upon the mass, with centripetal forces preventing the spherical mass from tearing asunder.

After this deflected heat has thus acted upon the mass, for the remaining time of the period before the longitudinal intermittent movement again begins, that intermittent movement again takes place and moves this very hot bead to the left from its second position. The third bead is now being formed, and the secondly formed head is in the deflected heat zone. As a result of the The lower end of the glass 3 last named intermittent movement, the first formed bead has moved out of the most intense heat zone, where even the wire at both sides of the bead becomes red hot, to a third position, and while still under the induced hot air flow, it is under less heat action than when in the second station or position. A cooling takes place and hardens the mass from its center outwardly, and its surface is heat polished. When the next intermittent movement has taken place, the fourth bead is formed, and the third formed bead is subjected simultaneously to the intense defiected heat zone, with the second formed bead cooling, and the first formed bead under still less heat and thereby still further cooling. When the wire is again shifted, the fifth bead is formed and the first formed bead is out of the range of the heat flow. As the formation of the beads continues, the first formed bead and its succes sive beads enter the cooling tunnel, by the intermittent movement of the wire. All these actions take place while the wire rotates.

The following criteria are set forth, which have resulted in excellently formed beads:

Speed of rotation of spindle in relation to dia meter of beads--for lead glass, alabaster or cornaline.

For a diameter Speed R. P. M.

3 to 4% mm Not less than 240 and not more than 25!) 5 to 5% mm N0t less than 220 and not more than 2-10 6 to 6% Inm N0t less than 200 and not more than 220 7 to 8 mm Not less than 180 and not more than 200 The spacing of beads should be in direct rela tion of diameter of beadand the distance between periphery and periphery on the wire. in any case should be larger than the radius of the head. The relation of rotation of the wire is according to diameter of bead. The harder the glass, the more is the temperature increased.

The glass rods selected for carrying out the invention are preferably composed of silicate, potassium hydrate, sodium lead, and a color ingredient, as now commercially obtainable on the market, but I do not desire to be limited thereto.

The wire is preferably composed of nickel about 18%, silver and copper, as obtainable on the market, but I do not desire to be limited thereto.

The important features of the foregoing method is the disposition of the focal point of the Bunsen flames above the wire, and the placing of the glass rod at about the third flame or between the third and fourth flames, for the smaller beads, or between the fourth and fifth flames for the larger beads, and the holding of the glass rod in such an inclined position to the perpendicular, as to deflect the heat from the glass rod to the next left adjacent bead to bring up its temperature to cause iridescence or incandescence, with the final exterior surface being heat polished, all under centrifugal and centripetal forces to make the head as truly spherical as possible.

The important feature of the apparatus is the plurality of Bunsen burner tubes for flames having their ends at a focus, above and beyond a wire substantially the same distance, to deflect the heat by an inserted glass meltable rod to the wire.

A speedometer is used to measure the speed of rotation so as to keep it within the critical speeds for the respective diameters.

I have described the essential features of the improved method, but changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the claim hereunto following.

I claim:

In a method of making glass beads on a rotating horizontal wire, in which a glass rod is subjected to an inclination to the perpendicular with its lower end in the focal point of a gob forming heating flame above the axis of rotation of said wire, and to a movement to sever a gob on said wire and deposit it on the wire, forming a preliminary bead, the improvement which consists in forming an adjacent second bead on said wire by adding another gob to the wire at such a distance from the preliminary bead as to include the preliminary bead and the wire between the preliminary bead and the second gob, within the heating flame while forming the second gob into said second bead, and at such a distance from the preliminary bead for the preliminary bead to receive deflected rays from the gob forming glass rod during the formation of the second head, to spherically perfeet the preliminary bead while in substantially fluid state while under the direct and deflected rays during the formation of the second bead, and then cooling the preliminary bead by moving it out of the path of said rays.

PAUL LEBRUN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

